Centennial, Oñate enter state volleyball tournament as underdogs

LAS CRUCES - In tournament volleyball, the pressure is on the higher-seeded team during pool play.

Centennial coach Al Rosen has been on both sides of the equation throughout his time as the former head coach at Gadsden High School.

"When you are a No. 1 or one of the top seeds, you don't like pool play because there is a chance to lose your seed," said Rosen, whose Hawks are a No. 8 seed in Class 4A this weekend. "There is more pressure to win because if you don't get the bye, you blew your seed. The No. 1 seed is obviously a good team or they wouldn't be there, but there are a lot of upsets or near upsets in pool play every year."

Centennial opens pool play on Thursday at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho. The Hawks are In Pool A with top-seeded Piedra Vista and No. 9 Los Alamos.

Pool play consists of two matches consisting of two sets to 25 points. The winner receives a first-round bye while the bottom two seeds match up with another pool. The No. 2 team in Pool A plays the No. 3 team in Pool C and the third-place team plays the No. 2 team in Pool C. Pool C consists of No. 3 Goddard, No. 6 Los Lunas and No. 11 Farmington.

"I think we have a good chance of doing well against Los Lunas or Farmington," Rosen said. "We have seen some of them in the summer. The season is different, but it's the same kids and we were able to compete."

In the Class 5A bracket, Las Cruces was seeded No. 3. The Bulldawgs play No. 6 Cibola and No.

Like Centennial, Oñate drew the top seed in its classification. The Knights go up against No. 1 Cleveland and No. 8 Manzano.

"Cleveland is a seasoned team that has been in the finals the last two years," said Oñate coach Marian Bennett, who took the Knights to the Class 5A quarterfinals last year as a No. 8 seed. "We don't have anything to lose when you play the higher seed. After the mental part, once you get past that you can play your game."

The Knights lost at Manzano during the regular season. Bennett is leaning on the experience of players from last year's team.

"Those girls have been there but they are next to so many who haven't been there," Bennett said. "The young people have done a good job but it's the seniors who have to step up."

Jason Groves can be reached at (575) 541-5459

2012 Volleyball State Tournament

* Pool play and first-round matches will be held Thursday. Quarterfinals and semifinals are scheduled for Friday and championship matches will be Saturday. Below is a list of pool-play brackets throughout the state: